I am not a liar, says actor Swetha Menon
Actor Swetha Menon continued to be in a state of shock over the incidents that happened Friday at Kollam and said, "I am not a liar". "I am in a state of shock over the incidents that happened yesterday (Friday) and I am deeply hurt in the manner in which the Kollam district collector has refuted I spoke to him about what happened," said Menon. "I want justice because I have been picturised as a liar and I can't take this," added Menon who broke down while...

Police record statement of actress Shweta Menon in 'molestation' case
Leading Malayalam film actress Shweta Menon, who was allegedly molested by Congress MP N Peethambara Kurup at the President's Boat race event at Kollam two days back, on Sunday gave her statement on the incident to police. A police team from Kollam, including a woman Circle Inspector arrived here at 9 am and recorded Shweta's statement at her residence. The actress reportedly broke down while the statement was being recorded. The police team refused to disclose the...

Shweta Menon alleges molestation, Congress MP denies charge
 Congress MP N Peethambara Kurup, embroiled in controversy over alleged molestation of Malayalam cine actress Shweta Menon at a function here on Friday evening, on Saturday strongly denied having committed such an act. "It is totally untrue. I am telling this since my name has come up in a section of the media in connection with the incident," 73-year-old Kurup, representing Kollam in the Lok Sabha, told the media here on Saturday. Shweta had complained, without...

Rohit Sharma double century lights up Bangalore on Diwali
Rohit Sharma went into the history books by becoming the third Indian to hit a double century in ODI cricket, emulating Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. In the series decider against Australia in Bangalore on Saturday, Rohit slammed his way to a sensational 158-ball 209 as India posted a mammoth 383/6 in their 50 overs. Rohit also broke Shame Watson's record for the most sixes in the innings, hitting 16 in a knock that was as breathtaking as it was calculated. (Live...

Security Agent Is Killed at Los Angeles Airport
 A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle in a terminal of Los Angeles International airport on Friday, killing a Transportation Security Agent and injuring at least six other people before he was shot and captured, authorities said on Friday. The incident prompted scenes of chaos at the airport, which halted departing flights and evacuated the terminal. Streets surrounding the airport were also shut down. "An individual came into Terminal 3 of this airport, pulled an...

Michelle Obama to lead Diwali celebrations in White House
US First Lady Michelle Obama would lead this year's Diwali celebrations the White House, which is expected to be attended by lawmakers, senior administration officials and eminent Indian Americans. "The First Lady will provide remarks at the White House Diwali celebration," the White House announced today. A media advisory said the festival of lights would be observed on November 5. Meanwhile, US Senators John Cornyn and Mark R Warner, co-chairs of Senate's...

Shweta Menon claims she was insulted at Kollam event
Malayalam film actress Shweta Menon has alleged that she was 'insulted' by a person at the venue of the President's Trophy Boat on Friday. While Menon declined to reveal the name of the person who allegedly insulted her, reports suggested that it was a someone known in the political field. Talking to television news channels, Menon claimed she had complained to District Collector B Mohanan, present at the venue, about the incident at the event to which she was invited...

Sensex hits new record high of 21,293.88, up 129.36 points
The BSE benchmark sensex on Friday hit a new high of 21,293.88 by gaining over 129 points in opening trade on sustained foreign fund inflows in banking, auto, metal and realty sectors. Rising for the fourth straight session, the sensex rose 129.36 points, or 0.61%, to trade at record high of 21,293.88 points, surpassing previous intra-day record high of 21,206.77 reached on January 10, 2008. It had rallied 594.24 points in the past three sessions. Stock brokers said sentiments...

Infosys to pay $34m fine within 10 days; settlement not to affect future visas
It is one of India's most iconic companies, with a much-cherished reputation for probity and integrity. But in a finger-wagging denunciation, Uncle Sam says it committed "visa fraud by knowingly and unlawfully" using B-1 visa holders to perform skilled labour allowed only for H-B visa holders, submitted "materially false representations" regarding the purpose of its B-1 holding employees travel to US to "deceive" US officials, and presented, or caused to be...

LDF had ignored cases against Saritha, Biju
Tarnishing the clean image of the LDF in the solar scam, evidences point to the fact that the LDF government had chose not to probe cases against Saritha and Biju during its regime.   Evidences show that a petition filed by T R Prakash against the duo for duping him of Rs 41 lakhs after offering to set up a waste-recycling business was closed by the LDF government citing it as a civil case. Prakash, who is a permanent resident of Chennai, filed the case on 27 September,...

Report faults Kerala police for attack on CM
A report submitted by Kerala Police DGP, K S Balasubramaniam, to the government has accused the police and the intelligence of serious negligence in ensuring security to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The CM was recently attacked by a mob, believed to be Left activists, in Kannur and he sustained minor injuries in the attack. In his report, the DGP has recommended action against 15 officials including Kannur SP and three DYSPs. The report stands in contrast to an earlier report by...

Ashiq, Rima tie the knot
Malayalam film director, Aashiq Abu, and Malayalam film actress Rima Kallingal have tied the knot after much speculation and rumours. They registered their marriage at 12.30 at the Thrikakkara Registrar Office after arriving at the venue in the official vehicle of P Rajeev, MP. The wedding was a low-key affair and was attended by close relatives and friends such as M Ranjit and Maniyanpilla Raju. Many fans of the duo had reached the venue to congratulate them. The pair had earlier...

India-US to sign pact to enhance threat detection capabilities during air travel
India and the US are in final stages of an agreement on sharing information and technology to enhance their capabilities to detect threats in air travel, a top Indian official has said. "We are in the final stage for signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for sharing of sensitive security information to help each other in enhancing the capabilities of detection of threat items," Aviation Secretary K N Srivastava said at a meeting of aviation experts and officials during the...

Guess signs up Priyanka Chopra as global brand ambassador
American fashion brand Guess has signed Indian actress Priyanka Chopra as its global brand ambassador for next year. "Chopra's confidence, strength and sensuality reflect the qualities I always look for in a model and she reminds me of the young Sophia Loren," Paul Marciano, CEO, creative director and co-founder of Guess, told ET. "With the Indian movie industry exploding on a global stage, and Guess having a brand presence in 87 countries, we could not have found a better...

PM, Narendra Modi share stage amid battle over Sardar Patel's legacy
The Prime Minister sat on stage next to Narendra Modi, the man who hopes to replace him in office, at a function this evening and the two leaders talked and laughed briefly. Dr Manmohan Singh is attending the inauguration of a museum in Ahmedabad dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the iconic leader from Gujarat who was India's first Home Minister.   Mr Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, is a guest too at the function organised by the Sardar Patel Trust headed by Congress...

British diplomat visits Technopark
British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai Bharat Joshi Tuesday visited Technopark to explore ways to strengthen ties between companies based in Kerala and Britain. Joshi, who recently took over, was received by Technopark's senior business development manager M. Vasudevan and later met senior officials of various Technopark companies. They discussed establishing of a joint innovation cell at Technopark towards reverse innovation, improvement of services for British business...

5 Injured as Bomb Explodes Near Manipur CM’s House
For the second time in four days, a powerful bomb exploded close to Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh's official residence here this evening on the eve of Independence day. There was no casualty, official sources said. The bomb, an improvised explosive device, exploded at around 6:20 PM, 300 metre from the chief minister's official residence, in front of the City Convention Centre and near the state police headquarters, the sources said. They said that the...

Bus catches fire in Andhra Pradesh, 40 feared dead
In a tragic incident, 40 passengers of a Volvo bus were feared dead after the bus caught fire in Mahabubnagar in Andhra Pradesh early on Wednesday. The A/C bus owned by Jabbar travels, heading to Hyderabad from Bengaluru, went up in flames around 5.25 am, when the driver tried to overtake another vehicle and hit the fuel tank to a culvert. The tank burst resulting in fire.  The bus was reportedly carrying 49 passengers, most of whom were going home for Diwali festival. Reports...

Indian IT's Big Four build $9 bn cash chest
 Country's top four IT companies-- TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies -- have seen their combined cash chest swell to a whopping $9 billion (Rs 56,000 crore) as their businesses continue to generate profitable growth despite turbulent macroeconomic scenario.      This marks an increase of about $1 billion since the beginning of current fiscal in the four companies' cumulative cash position, which includes cash, cash equivalents, bank deposits and...

Mass contact programme in Kollam postponed
The mass contact programme of the chief minister to be convened in Kollam tomorrow has been postponed to October 31. It has been postponed following the attack towards the chief minister. Holiday given to educational institutions of the district tomorrow has also been postponed to 31st.

CBI moves SC to include one more officer in probe team
The CBI on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking its permission to include one more officer in the team of 39 officials conducting probe in coal blocks allocation scam. The agency filed the application as the apex court had directed it that no changes to be made in the team of officers probing the multi-crore scam. The CBI in its application said that the reason for adding one more officer in the present investigating team has been disclosed in a sealed envelope which will be handed...

Man behind Patna serial blasts identified
Tahseen Akhtar, allegedly a member of Indian Mujahideen (IM), is the brain behind the string of explosions in Patna Sunday that left six dead, authorities said Monday. "Tahseen Akhtar alias Monu, accused of several terrorist attacks, is man behind serial blasts in Patna," an Intelligence Bureau (IB) official here said. "Initial investigation suggested the involvement of IM in serial blasts in Patna. The modus operandi and low-intensity bomb blasts are part of IM...

Stoning of Chandy: LDF workers held, CM in hospital
All official programmes of chief minister Oommen Chandy scheduled for Monday and Tuesday have been cancelled following the directive from the doctors of medical college, Thiruvananthapuram where he is undergoing treatment. The doctors have recommended complete rest for two days at the hospital, due to which his mass contact programme scheduled in Kollam on Tuesday will be postponed. Chandy was attacked by a group of LDF workers in Kannur on Sunday evening and he suffered minor injuries...

ISRO 'not engaged in space race with China'
Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan does not believe the November 5 ‘desi’ Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) will fuel a space race with China which has not yet attempted such a venture to the red planet. Mr. Radhakrishnan, Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, said each country — whether it’s India, the US, Russia or China — had their own priorities. “There is no race with anybody. If you look at...

Lahli in celebration as Sachin pads up, high quality replica watches for men
It was a wedding like atmosphere in Haryana's nondescript village of Lahli Saturday as batting legend Sachin Tendulkar prepared to play his final domestic match. All roads seemed to be leading to the Chaudhary Bansi Lal cricket stadium located on the Rohtak-Bhiwani highway. Scores of cricket fans, residents of Lahli and nearby villages and many others headed towards the stadium to have a look at India's batting sensation. High quality swiss replica watches for men for free...

Andhra rain: Toll mounts to 42, over 84,000 evacuated
Incessant rain lashing Andhra Pradesh for the last five days has claimed 42 lives so far in various rain-related incidents like wall collapse and inundated crops in about eight lakh hectares, official sources said on Sunday. Five persons were also missing in the wake of heavy rains, triggered by a low pressure area and north east monsoon, and floods, the sources said. They said 84,769 people have been evacuated to safer places and 225 relief camps set up so far to provide shelter...

Five dead as terror hits Modi's Patna rally
At least five people were killed and more than 70 injured as seven bombs exploded here Sunday, six of them in and around the ground where BJP star Narendra Modi addressed a rally hours later. The first of the supposedly low intensity blasts ripped through a toilet at around 10 a.m. at the newly built Platform 10 of the railway station in the heart of the city, killing one person and wounding another. After an hour, by which time Modi had reached Patna but not the rally ground, four...

Chandy injured after CPI-M activists stone car
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was injured after his car was stoned by suspected CPM activists here, a party leader said. Chandy was arriving to attend the annual athletics meet of Kerala Police. Speaking to reporters, party general secretary T.Siddiq said that he was travelling with the chief minister in his car when the attack occurred. "...Stones came from both sides and I immediately threw my hands around him to protect him and a stone hit my hand. The glass...

Oommen Chandy will not be made a witness by the probe team
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will not be made a witness by the probe team in the case filed by Sreedharan Nair relating to the solar scam. The investigation team had submitted the chargesheet, including 97 documents on Friday. The CCTV footage of the Chief Minister's Office and CDs have also been produced. The documents contain e-mails of prime accused Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha Nair, their mobile phone call lists, bank and cheque details. The call details of Tenny Joppen,...

LDF to launch stir against fadulent land deals: Achuthanandan
CPI-M veteran and opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly VS Achuthanandan on Saturday said LDF would launch a mass agitation and take legal steps to expose the 'influencial power behind' fradulent land deal worth Rs 250 crore carried out by Salim Raj, former gunman of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. Talking to reporters after visiting those who had complained that their land had been grabbed through fraudlent menas, Achuthanandan said a probe should be made to find out the...